Man and Nature: Or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action, first published in 1864, was written by American polymath scholar and diplomat George Perkins Marsh. Marsh intended it to show that "whereas think the earth made man, man in fact made the earth"; as a result, he warned that man could destroy himself and the Earth if we don't restore and sustain global resources and raise awareness about our actions. It is one of the first works to document the effects of human action on the environment and it helped to launch the modern conservation movement. Marsh is remembered by scholars as a profound and observant student of men and nature with a wide range of interests ranging from history to poetry and literature, his wide array of knowledge and great natural powers of mind gave him the ability to speak and write about every topic of inquire with the assertive authority of a genuine investigator. He got the idea for "man and Nature" from his observations in his New England home and his foreign travels devoted to similar inquiries.

Marsh wrote the book in line with the view that human life and action is a transformative phenomenon in relation to nature, due to personal economic interests. He felt that men were too quick to lessen their sense of responsibility and he was "unwilling to leave the world worse than he found it"; the book challenges the myth of the inexhaustibility of the earth and the belief that human impact on the environment is negligible by drawing similarities to the ancient civilization of the Mediterranean. Marsh argued. Deforestation led to eroded soils. Additionally, the same trends could be found occurring in the United States; the book was one of the most influential books of its time, next to Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, inspiring conservation and reform in the USA since it forebode what happened to an ancient civilisation when it depleted and exhausted its natural resources. The book was instrumental in the creation of Adirondack Park in New York and the United States National Forest.

Gifford Pinchot, first Chief of the United States Forest Service, called it "epoch making" and Stewart Udall wrote that it was "the beginning of land wisdom in this country." The book is divided into six chapters. Introductory Transfer and Extirpation of Vegetable and of Animal Species The Woods The Waters The Sands Projected or Possible Geographical Changes by Man Anthropocene Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Man and Nature at Internet Archive Full Text of Book from the Library of Congress

Elippathayam is a 1981 Malayalam film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It stars Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada and Rajam K. Nair; the film documents the feudal life in Kerala at its twilight. The protagonist is trapped within himself and is unable to comprehend the changes taking place around him; the film premired at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.. It was screened at the London Film Festival where it won the Sutherland Trophy, it is regarded as one of the best Indian films made. A middle-aged man and his three sisters struggle as the feudal way of life becomes unviable in Kerala. Succumbing to the adverse conditions surrounding him, Unni becomes helpless like a rat in a trap. The'rat trap' is a metaphor for a state of oblivion to changes in the external world, such as the disintegration of the feudal system, in which some are caught and which leads to destruction. Gopalakrishnan says in his interview that the movie was inspired by the feudal characteristics of his own family. Silence is a huge trope in the move, with large swathes of silence in dialogue.

The film is set in the now derelict manor house of an aristocratic family, that has seen better days. Unni, the patriarch, in spite of the looming changes in the family's fortune and the times retains the old attitude and is portrayed as proud, incapable of adjusting to the impending downfall of his family and himself, remains oblivious to it, he is shown to spend most of his day in idleness and sleeping. His only activities are oiling himself, he cannot take care of himself without his sisters, cannot face the taunts and the threats of his extended family and the villagers. He needs to be propped up by his sisters who cook for him, clean for him, do chores for him, he is incapable of negotiating the changing outer world. The chief theme of the film, according to Gopalakrishnan, is Unni's obliviousness to external realities; the sister Rajamma is destroyed by the silence of her brother, who does not support her when she wants to get married - he turns down an offer because he felt it was beneath his family - and keeps silent when she is ailing and dying.

Rajamma wears blue. Gopalakrishnan says he gave her blue to show her gentleness and being doomed, she is incapable of imagining. She is shown to be working for others and faithfully looking after Unni; the eldest sister wears green according to Gopalakrishnan to show earthiness and intelligence- she has survived within the patriarchy by marriage and bearing children. She worries about wealth and how to feed her family, her main concern is to claim her share of the family property and income, she is portrayed as self-centred. The youngest sister, Sridevi wears red, which Gopalakrishnan says is to symbolize revolt and life, she is pretty and concerned about her looks. She runs away from the family with a lover. Unni, according to Gopalkrishnan, is given a mixture of all three colours- white; the feudal characteristics of the patriarchy is shown through the way Unni treats his servants, the various people who visit him and most how he treats Rajamma, his sister who takes care of him. The music is throbbing, incomplete throughout the movie to show the sense of sustained urgency, that the crippling patriarchal structure results in.

The rats are caught by Sridevi and drowned just like Unni is destroyed by the decline of the feudal way of life. Karamana Janardanan Nair as Unni Sharada as Rajamma Jalaja as Sreedevi Rajam K Nair as Janamma prakash The film has won the following awards since its release: 1982 British Film Institute Won - Most Original and Imaginative film shown at the National Film Theatre - Elippathayam - Adoor Gopalakrishnan1982 Kerala State Film Awards Won - Kerala State Film Award for Best Film - Elippathayam - Adoor Gopalakrishnan1982 London Film Festival Won - Sutherland Trophy - Elippathayam - Adoor Gopalakrishnan1982 National Film Awards Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Audiography Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Regional Film - Elippathayam - Adoor Gopalakrishnan Elippathayam on IMDb Mathrubhumi article